Latest news with #DavidMcCormick
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venezuelan Little League team granted exemption to President Trump's travel ban after senior team denied entry
A team from Venezuela has received approval from the Trump administration to participate in the 2025 Little League World Series, two weeks after a team from the same country was denied entry for a different tournament. The team from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the winners of last month's Latin America region tournament, was granted a "national exemption" to enter the country, per The Athletic. The effort reportedly required both the intervention of Sen. David McCormick (R-Penn.) and a personal sign-off from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The team's Instagram account confirmed it was playing over the weekend. The team's status was in limbo following the denial of a team from Maracaibo, Venezuela to play in the Senior League World Series, a Little League-run tournament for players between 13 and 16 years old. Venezuela is one of seven countries facing a limited ban on entry into the U.S. following an executive order from President Donald Trump. That order grants exceptions to 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State." However, that leaves Rubio as the arbiter for what constitutes a "major sporting event," leaving uncertainty for any international event looking to take place in the country. The order specifically carves out an opening for those involved with the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but even that leaves uncertainty based on what is considered a "necessary support role" or "immediate relative." St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras, one of 86 players born in Venezuela to appear in MLB this year, blasted the Senior League team's situation in an interview with The Athletic: 'What pisses me off is they earned the right to be here,' Contreras said of the team that was barred last month. 'They are little kids chasing dreams. I put myself in their shoes because I was a kid once, and I dreamed of being in the Little League World Series once.' In the case of the Little League team, McCormick, a Trump ally on immigration, reportedly worked with the State Department to ensure the Venezuelans were granted entry, via the Athletic: 'I am thrilled my team and I were able to play a small role in making sure young athletes are able to chase their dreams and participate in this timeless Pennsylvania tradition,' McCormick said in a statement to The Athletic. MLB also reportedly offered help to Little League with the visa process, after months of following the Trump's lead on topics such as reinstating Pete Rose from the ineligible list and eliminating mentions of its diversity programs from its site. The 2025 Little League World Series is scheduled to take place from Aug. 13-24 in Williamsport, Penn.
Toronto Star
15-07-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
The Latest: Trump promotes tech and energy investments in Pennsylvania
President Donald Trump and Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania jointly announced tens of billions of dollars of energy and technology investments in the state of Pennsylvania as the president traveled to Pittsburgh for a conference with dozens of top executives to promote his energy and technology agenda. Trump has repeatedly pledged U.S. 'energy dominance' in the global market, and Pennsylvania — a swing state critical to his wins in 2016 and 2024 — is at the forefront of that agenda, in large part due to its coal industry that the Republican administration has taken several steps to bolster.
Axios
15-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump pledges more power to match AI investments in Pennsylvania
President Trump said Tuesday he's speeding up permitting and making it easier for data centers to connect to the electricity grid in announcing $92 billion in AI and energy investments at a Pennsylvania summit. Why it matters: Trump's endorsement of building new power plants — and locating data centers right next to them — reflects the growing thirst for electricity from the energy-intensive facilities. Trump said the U.S. is already winning the artificial intelligence race with China, and that the new investments are crucial to keeping that status. "Today's commitments are ensuring that the future is going to be designed, built and made right here in Pennsylvania and right here in Pittsburgh, and, I have to say, right here in the United States of America," Trump said alongside Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick. Driving the news: Trump's remarks at an inaugural AI and energy summit in Pittsburgh backed coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower plants to feed AI demand. Trump touted $56 billion in investment that he said would feed expanding energy infrastructure in addition to more than $36 billion for new data centers. Blackstone announced at the summit it plans to invest $25 billion in American data centers and energy generation to drive AI innovation. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he wants to ensure companies follow through on their commitments. "There's a difference between what someone has said in a press release today and when shovels go into the ground in the future … We're going to be working with these companies to hold them to the commitments." Shapiro, a Democrat, told reporters. Between the lines: Both political parties agree that rising energy demand is a national challenge, but energy policy around AI has broken along starkly political lines. Trump and Republican lawmakers have seized on rising energy demand to keep coal and gas plants open while seeking to fast-track new fossil fuel plants. Democrats respond that wind, solar, and batteries are the cheapest and quickest way to add power supply. China is "opening up coal-fired plants all over the place," Trump said Tuesday. "And we're entitled and allowed now to do that, too." Zoom out: Trump said he supports allowing data centers to build their own power plants to get around delays in expanding the aging power grid. "You're going to build your own electric factory, and you're going to make your own electricity," Trump said. "So this way you can have a great plant, and what you'll do is, if you have excess, you can sell it back into the grid." U.S. energy regulators have been weighing arguments that so-called co-location arrangements could raise power prices for other grid customers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected a proposal from Talen Energy to feed Amazon data centers with nuclear energy. Some GOP lawmakers have pressed the commission to allow it. Trump also promised to tackle one of the biggest challenges that both parties have identified: permitting delays. He praised EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for speeding up the process and approving power plants. Zeldin recently began to seek to repeal rules regulating carbon dioxide emissions and mercury and hazardous air pollutants from power plants. Speaking to Westinghouse officials, Trump said his nuclear regulators "will be very safe, but we're fast and safe. And you're going to get a whole different group of people." The Trump White House is in the midst of a " total and complete reform" of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and recently fired a Democratic commissioner.
Malaysian Reserve
15-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure create joint venture to build natural gas generation in Pennsylvania in support of data center development
Venture to serve data center power needs through long-term energy supply agreements ALLENTOWN, Pa., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) ('PPL') and Blackstone Infrastructure today announced that they have formed a joint venture to build, own and operate new gas-fired, combined-cycle generation stations to power data centers under long-term energy services agreements (ESA). The announcement was made at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit hosted by Sen. David McCormick at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. 'We're excited to leverage the powerful expertise that PPL and Blackstone Infrastructure possess to bring much-needed new dispatchable generation online in Pennsylvania to match new data center load in a way that directly supports economic development and large load customer needs, helps to mitigate rising electricity prices for energy consumers, and delivers increased value for shareowners without traditional merchant power risk,' said PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi. The joint venture seeks to develop front-of-the-meter generation that sits atop the Marcellus and Utica shale basins; can quickly connect to significant, available gas pipeline capacity; and targets areas of significant data center interest. 'We are excited to partner with PPL to develop generation projects that will help Pennsylvania, and PJM, meet the growing demand for power driven by the digitization of the economy,' said Sebastien Sherman, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Infrastructure. 'Blackstone Infrastructure has a proven track record and commitment to long-term partnerships, and we look forward to working with PPL to power data centers across Pennsylvania and the broader PJM service territory.' The joint venture plans to enter into long-term energy services agreements with regulated-like risk profiles that do not expose the companies to merchant energy and capacity price volatility. Construction of new natural gas plants will require the successful execution of ESAs with hyperscalers. The joint venture is actively engaged with landowners, natural gas pipeline companies and turbine manufacturers, and has secured multiple land parcels to enable this new generation buildout; however, no ESAs with hyperscalers have been signed to date. The joint venture team also looks forward to engaging with local stakeholders as plans develop. PPL owns 51% of the joint venture interest, with Blackstone Infrastructure owning 49%. The parties will ratably share joint venture expenses and distributions. The joint venture does not include PPL Electric Utilities or PPL's other regulated subsidiaries. 'I'm an all-of-the-above energy governor, and we are working to produce even more energy here in Pennsylvania from all sources – from natural gas to solar to wind to nuclear,' said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. 'As a national energy leader, we welcome Blackstone Infrastructure's intent to invest in Pennsylvania and work with PPL to deliver long-term clean energy solutions to power our data centers through natural gas generation. Pennsylvania is competing again, and it is clear that with the significant investments recently announced in the commonwealth and today's historic announcement by PPL and Blackstone Infrastructure, Pennsylvania is primed for investments in energy, data centers, AI and more. I look forward to working with Blackstone Infrastructure and PPL as their plan comes together to create real, good paying jobs and generate new revenue for our communities with investments that will drive economic opportunity to the commonwealth.' A creative solution to a growing needPJM Interconnection has forecasted the potential for capacity shortages as early as the 2026-27 delivery year. With surging demand from data centers, increasing retirements of aging dispatchable generation, and the vast majority of resources in PJM's interconnection queue being intermittent with historically low completion rates, new solutions are needed now. Within PPL Electric Utilities' service territory in Pennsylvania alone, data center interest has reached over 60 gigawatts (GW) of potential projects, with over 13 GW in advanced stages of planning. If all 13 GW come online, PPL estimates a 6 GW generation shortfall in PPL Electric Utilities' service territory in the next five to six years. That represents about a $15 billion investment need, assuming natural gas combined-cycle units are used to meet this need. PPL said it expects this generation to be built by existing independent power producers, the new joint venture being announced today and, if permitted, PPL Electric Utilities. To avoid making significant existing resource adequacy concerns within PJM worse, the joint venture endeavors to build new, dispatchable generation to serve large-load data centers in Pennsylvania. PPL said the joint venture does not lessen the need for additional action to address underlying resource adequacy concerns. This includes passage of current legislation pending before both the Pennsylvania House and Senate to allow the state's utilities to invest in, own and operate generation again. The legislation also encourages utilities to enter into long-term contracts with independent power producers to help derisk their new generation investment. Meeting this unprecedented demand growth will require an unprecedented response and will require all market participants to be part of the solution. 'At PPL, we are committed to developing creative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we face in today's changing energy landscape,' said Sorgi. 'And in Blackstone Infrastructure, we've found a tremendous partner and long-term energy infrastructure investor that not only has deep expertise in data center development and power generation but also shares our passion to deliver America's AI dominance and to help address resource adequacy concerns within PJM.' About PPLPPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a leading U.S. energy company focused on providing electricity and natural gas safely, reliably and affordably to more than 3.6 million customers in the U.S. PPL's high-performing, award-winning utilities are addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more resilient and more dynamic power grids and advancing sustainable energy solutions. For more information, visit About Blackstone InfrastructureBlackstone Infrastructure is an active investor across energy, transportation, digital infrastructure and water and waste infrastructure sectors. We seek to apply a long-term buy-and-hold strategy to large-scale infrastructure assets with a focus on delivering stable, long-term capital appreciation together with a predictable annual cash flow yield. Our approach to infrastructure investing is one that focuses on responsible stewardship and stakeholder engagement to create value for our investors and the communities we serve. Forward-Looking StatementsStatements contained in this press release, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PPL Corporation, including the potential impacts of the joint venture, PPL Corporation's financial position, capital investments and potential impacts to PPL Corporation's customer base, are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those described in the statements, including the ability of the parties to develop generation projects or enter into long-term energy services agreements with hyperscalers, utilities or other entities, which may not occur or may be delayed, or that any such transaction will ultimately be consummated. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future developments and other factors that we believe are relevant. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include factors disclosed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. PPL Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. Media Contacts: Ryan Hill, PPL Corporation rwhill@ 610-774-5997 Paula Chirhart, Blackstone 347-463-5453 Financial Analysts Contact: Andy Ludwig, PPL Corporation 610-774-3389
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Trump and U.S. senator team up to promote energy and tech investments in Pennsylvania
From left, David McCormick, then the Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate, greets Donald Trump at a rally in Harrisburg, Pa., on July 31, 2024. (Matt Rourke / AP Photo) PITTSBURGH — U.S. President Donald Trump and Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania touted tens of billions of dollars of energy and technology investments Tuesday as the president travelled to Pittsburgh for a conference with dozens of top executives to promote his energy and technology agenda. The Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, held at Carnegie Mellon University, comes as the state's political and business leaders are working to forge the city into a hub for robotics, artificial intelligence and energy. Trump has repeatedly pledged U.S. 'energy dominance' in the global market, and Pennsylvania — a swing state critical to his wins in 2016 and 2024 — is at the forefront of that agenda, in large part due to its coal and gas industry that the Republican administration has taken steps to bolster. At the summit, Trump Cabinet officials spoke of the need to produce as much energy as possible — especially from coal and natural gas — to beat China in the artificial intelligence race for the sake of economic and national security. 'The AI revolution is upon us,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during a panel discussion. 'The Trump administration will not let us lose. We need to do clean, beautiful coal. We need to do natural gas, we need to embrace nuclear, we need to embrace it all because we have the power to do it and if we don't do it we're fools.' Some of the investments on a list released by McCormick's office were not necessarily brand new, while others were. Some involve massive data center projects, while others involve building power plants, expanding natural gas pipelines, upgrading power plants or improving electricity transmission networks. Google said it would invest US$25 billion on AI and data centre infrastructure over the next two years in PJM's mid-Atlantic electricity grid, while investment firm Brookfield said it had signed contracts to provide more than $3 billion of power to Google's data centers from two hydroelectric dams on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Blackstone said it will spend $25 billion on data centers and power infrastructure in northeastern Pennsylvania, Frontier Group said it would transform the former Bruce Mansfield coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania into a new natural gas-fired plant and AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave said it will spend more than $6 billion to equip a data center in southcentral Pennsylvania. McCormick, a first-term Republican senator who organized the inaugural event, said the summit was meant to bring together top energy companies and AI leaders, global investors and labor behind Trump's energy policies and priorities. The list of participating CEOs includes leaders from global behemoths like Blackstone, Bridgewater, SoftBank, Amazon Web Services, BlackRock and ExxonMobil and local companies such as the Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics, which deploys AI to bolster energy capacity. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also spoke. Administration officials speaking at the summit included White House crypto czar David Sacks, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Lutnick. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also attended. McCormick credited his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, with the idea for a summit. Powell McCormick served as Trump's deputy national security adviser in his first term and is a former Goldman Sachs executive who is now at BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank. Pittsburgh is home to Carnegie Mellon University, a prestigious engineering school, plus a growing industry of small robotics firms and a so-called ' AI Avenue ' that's home to offices for Google and other AI firms. It also sits in the middle of the prolific Marcellus Shale natural gas reservoir. 'What's going on is a rewiring of the economy, of the world over the next 15 years and that takes trillions and trillions and tens of trillions of dollars and it starts with power,' said Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield, during a panel discussion. Pennsylvania has scored big investment wins in recent months, some driven by federal manufacturing policy and others by the ravenous need for electricity from the fast-growing AI business. Nippon Steel just bought U.S. Steel for almost $15 billion, getting Trump's approval after pledging to invest billions alone in U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area plants. Amazon will spend $20 billion on two data centre complexes in Pennsylvania, while the one-time Homer City coal-fired power plant is being turned into the nation's largest gas-fired power plant to fuel a data centre campus. Meanwhile, Microsoft says it is spending $1.6 billion to reopen the lone functional nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island under a long-term power supply agreement for its data centres. ___ Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa. Seung Min Kim and Marc Levy, The Associated Press
